5 Ways to Enjoy Matcha Green Tea

Sometimes I forget how much I love matcha green tea. I think I get in too much of a coffee drinking rut. But I seriously love the flavor, and knowing it's a great source of antioxidants doesn't hurt either. Of course you can easily just make a cup of hot or cold green tea or even a green tea latte. Recently I decided to challenge myself to think outside the box and find a few more ways to enjoy matcha green tea. I'm excited to share my favorite five with you all! Warning: these are pretty diverse and sort of random, but they are the five that I found I liked the most out of everything I experimented with. 🙂

I call this one The Green Monster. It honestly tastes a lot like some of the fresh juices you can buy at health food stores (or if you have a juicer, maybe you make your own?). But you don't need any special equipment besides a blender. Also, if the sound of fresh juice makes you nervous that this is going to be "healthy in a gross way" (as I tend to think sometimes…just being honest), you're wrong. This is actually lightly sweet and really refreshing, along with being packed full of good things. Try it!

First let's talk about spinach cubes. If you're looking to make some green smoothies anytime soon, I highly recommend you blend together 8 oz of well-rinsed spinach with 2/3 cup water. I usually do this in a food processor but a blender would work well too.

Then freeze the spinach mixture in a an ice cube tray, and use those cubes throughout the week to make green smoothies. This ensures your spinach won't go bad before you can use it all, and I think it blends into the smoothie better so you don't have little leafy bits.

I also like to remove ripe bananas from their peel and cut them into 5-6 pieces. Then I freeze those in a ziplock and use throughout the week too. I usually freeze 4-5 bananas at once so I will have enough to last a little while.

For the green tea, I like to whisk together the matcha and water first. This helps to ensure you don't have any powder clumps left in your mixture. Also, peel and remove the apple core before use.

In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. The frozen banana and spinach will make this smoothie just chilled, so add a few ice cubes (before or after blending) if you want it really cold.

Next is a vanilla matcha breakfast smoothie. This is so creamy and (lightly) sweet that it almost feels like a dessert. Almost. Also, can I just confess that for many years I thought protein powder was only for boys. Now I realize I was totally wrong! It can actually be really tasty and a good option for getting some much needed protein into your breakfast routine. I like vanilla whey, but I don't really have a favorite brand yet as I'm still trying a few out. If you have a favorite I should try, let me know!

Whisk together the milk and matcha powder until no powder clumps remain. Then blend all the ingredients together for 2 minutes. You really want to blend well here, otherwise the protein powder can feel a little chalky.

Have you guys ever tried chia water before? I think it makes an awesome afternoon pick me up (instead of my usual cup of coffee). I drink this unsweetened, but you could easily add some honey or other sweetener to this if you like.

In a tall glass or jar, whisk (or shake if you're using a jar with a lid) together the water and matcha powder. Stir in the chia seeds and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. Give the water a stir if it looks like the seeds are sticking together. The longer they soak the more gelatinous they will become. Before serving, squeeze in a little lemon juice.

Have you ever heard of bulletproof coffee? I forget where I first heard about it, but I do remember thinking, "That sounds interesting." And I'll pretty much try anything that I think sounds interesting. Why not? I will say though that I've read some sources that recommend drinking this type of thing every morning in place of breakfast, which I do not agree with. I am not a dietitian, but this just doesn't strike me as a good idea (and I think you'll agree once you see the ingredient list). For me this is just a tasty alternative to coffee or plain green tea, but not something I would drink everyday. But if you've never tried bulletproof coffee, or if you have and didn't like it, I still say try this green tea version as I like it even more than the coffee version.

Heat your water until just before it boils. Add the matcha and whisk until no powdery clumps remain. In a blender combine the green tea with the butter and coconut oil. Place a towel over the top of the blender (in case any hot liquid seeps out) and blend for 30-45 seconds on high. The butter and oil will dissolve and the high speed will incorporate some air, giving you a little foam on top (like a latte). Serve hot.

This is sort of like a green tea Arnold Palmer. Very refreshing and more fun to drink than water (ha!). I don't sweeten my version, but feel free to add a little honey or other sweetener if you like.

Thank you for this! I love matcha, but I only every do lattes. I’m excited to try these all! (I’m about to run to the grocery store anyway, I’m now adding to my list….)
Where do you prefer to get your matcha from?

These look awesome! But honestly, I think I love baking with matcha powder more than anything. And Emma, I think you would too!!! It’s so easy – just sift in with any dry ingredients – and adds awesome color and flavor. I’ve got yogurt matcha scones with a honey ginger glaze up on my blog – check the food archives under “brunch” 🙂

I just got back from Thailand, and green tea was everywhere there. You should check out Thai steamed buns Emma. I think you could get into them. They make ’em savory and sweet, and often green tea buns are on the featured menu. Also, if you’ve never had it, try mango sticky rice. So stinking delicious. I noticed their Dairy Queen had a mango sticky rice blizzard on the menu. Genius. As a carb-loving veggie, I love your recipes!

Perfect Fit protein!! Made with brown rice protein, which I like a little better for digestion than whey. The vanilla and chocolate are both delish, and they did a cinnamon roll flavor over the holidays- amazing!

My favorite coffee shop serves a “matcha cha cha” that I absolutely love. It’s matcha powder whisked in water, plus steamed milk and a pump of vanilla. I get it iced and it basically tastes like green tea ice cream (which I also love). Favorite summer drink, hands down. Plus I bet it would be pretty easy to make at home.

Ok, this is seriously so awesome. I used to work for a handmade cosmetics company that uses matcha in their products, and received a big packet of matcha green tea as gift at a company meeting, and I honestly had no idea what to do with it! Now I have so many ideas that I’m going to have to buy myself some more! (Also, speaking of lattes, I finally tried a lavender latte after hearing about them here on ABM and it’s my new favorite drink!) Hope your week is starting off on the right foot 🙂

i long to make matcha cupcakes with vanilla frosting. it sounds so good. or maybe raspberry frosting? mmm. i like getting green tea lattes from starbucks and subbing the simple syrup for raspberry. oooh! matcha milkshake! ok, i’m done 🙂

I never thought matcha was good for anything else than tea. I’m super excited to try the morning smoothie (I always thought protein shakes were for boys too, until about a month ago. Thanks for the great post!

Just today one of my favorite fashion bloggers posted a matcha and boba green tea and I was wondering about how it is and now I stumble with these recipes! I guess I am going to order the matcha and give it a try!

The spinach cubes are genius. Say I’d want to throw in the mint, too (because I tend to always loose the last sprigs of a bunch) how would I go about measuring how much I’d need? Or, rather, how many cubes do 8 oz of spinach make?

yes yes yes yes YES! my love for matcha knows no boundaries (i am known to have not slept through the night for making and of course testing matcha cupcakes in the evening : totally worth it) and this is just the perfect post to start off the warm season right. you bet i’m going to try them all very soon!!

I’ve been wanting to give spinach cubes a try for a while now but since my first try with the blender well, it didn’t do the job. May I ask what’s the brand of your food processor, please?
Can I give a suggestion? I would love to read a post/review about food processors and its uses, especially on the one you use because it looks like it does the job pretty well 🙂

These recipes look amazing! Smoothies in the morning is how I get through my day. I really want to try the vanilla matcha breakfast smoothie, it looks so yummy. Bananas are my favorite, so I can’t see why I wouldn’t love it!